President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. bangs a gong symbolizing the World Peace Bell to mark 2026 National Peace Consciousness Month in a ceremony held in Malacañang with Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) Secretary Mel Senen Sarmiento and Special Assistant to the President Antonio Lagdameo Jr. on September 1, 2026. (Courtesy: Presidential Communications Office)
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Tuesday urged Filipinos to protect and strengthen the country’s peace gains, emphasizing that sustained peace is essential to achieving lasting national development.
President Marcos made the call as he led in Malacañang the 2026 National Peace Consciousness Month (NPCM) opening ceremony, commemoration of the 30th Anniversary of the Government of the Philippines (GPH)-Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) 1996 Final Peace Agreement (FPA), and 40th Anniversary of the GPH-Cordillera Bodong Administration-Cordillera People’s Liberation Army (CBA-CPLA) 1986 Mount Data Peace Accord “SIPAT.”
“The milestones we commemorate today tell us that peace entails responsibility. It must be chosen, it must be lived, protected, and strengthened every single day,” President Marcos said.
“Mga kababayan, lahat tayo ay may tungkulin upang mas mapatibay ang kapayapaan sa ating bansa. Kapayapaan ang binhi ng kaunlaran. Nawa’y alagaan natin ito upang sama-sama nating anihin ang bunga ng isang mas maunlad na Pilipinas,” the Chief Executive noted.
(My fellow Filipinos, we all have a duty to strengthen peace in our country. Peace is the seed of progress. May we nurture it so that together, we can reap the fruits of a more prosperous Philippines.)
The President also urged Filipinos to always choose to be at peace with their fellow citizens, likening it to family relations that despite everyone’s differences, members are bonded by something stronger.
Honoring the past peacebuilders, President Marcos said Filipinos must carry on their work as the peacebuilders the younger generation will remember.
“We owe it to them, and to the generations yet to come, to pass on not the conflicts of the past, but the peace, unity, and hope that we chose to create together,” the chief executive noted.
The country celebrates the National Peace Consciousness Month this September and also commemorates the 30th Anniversary of the 1996 Final Peace Agreement with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).
Preparations are also ongoing for the first parliamentary elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) on September 14.
The 1986 “Sipat,” or Mount Data Peace Accord with the Cordillera Bodong Administration-Cordillera People’s Liberation Army, is also being commemorated this year.
The 2026 peace celebration has for its theme “Kapayapaan Pagtibayin, Kaunlaran Paigtingin.”